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Study of Earth's magnetosphere began in 1600, when William Gilbert discovered that the magnetic field on the surface of Earth resembled that of a terrella, a small, magnetized sphere. In the 1940s, Walter M. Elsasser proposed the model of dynamo theory, which attributes Earth's magnetic field to the motion of Earth's iron outer core.
Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that extends from Earth's interior out into space, where it interacts with the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun.
The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere. It extends from Earth's surface to an average height of about 12 km (7.5 mi; 39,000 ft), although this altitude varies from about 9 km (5.6 mi; 30,000 ft) at the geographic poles to 17 km (11 mi; 56,000 ft) at the Equator, [17] with some variation due
Generated by the churning molten metals in Earth’s core, the magnetosphere shields the planet from harmful solar radiation and keeps solar winds from stripping away Earth’s atmosphere.
Atmospheric temperature is a measure of temperature at different levels of the Earth's atmosphere. It is governed by many factors, including incoming solar radiation , humidity , and altitude . The abbreviation MAAT is often used for Mean Annual Air Temperature of a geographical location.
The Earth's atmosphere limits the belts' particles to regions above 200–1,000 km, [11] (124–620 miles) while the belts do not extend past 8 Earth radii R E. [11] The belts are confined to a volume which extends about 65 ° [ 11 ] on either side of the celestial equator .
Schematic of Earth's magnetosphere. The solar wind flows from left to right. If a planet's magnetic field is strong enough, its interaction with the solar wind forms a magnetosphere. Early space probes mapped out the gross dimensions of the Earth's magnetic field, which extends about 10 Earth radii towards the Sun.
The worldwide solar-driven wind results in the so-called Sq (solar quiet) current system in the E region of the Earth's ionosphere (ionospheric dynamo region) (100–130 km (60–80 mi) altitude). [citation needed] Resulting from this current is an electrostatic field directed west–east (dawn–dusk) in the equatorial day side of the ionosphere.